Note: Writing style? Taking the risk of Not hurting the intelligence of the reader by letting him comprehend your opinion with the fewer sentences possible. Taking the position that your readers can understand you with minimal development.

Saudi Arabia appears to be using US-supplied white phosphorous munitions in its war in Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media, raising concerns among human rights groups that the highly incendiary material could be used against civilians.

Under American regulations, white phosphorous sold to other countries is to be used only for signaling to other troops and creating smoke screens. When the munition explodes, it releases white phosphorous that automatically ignites in the air and creates a thick white smoke. When used against soldiers or civilians, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone. (Why Saudi Kingdom need tons of that stuff? Too many Saudis lost in the desert?)

It is unclear exactly how the Saudis are using the munitions, but the government has already received widespread condemnation for its indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas since its campaign against rebel forces in Yemen began in 2015.

US officials confirmed that the American government has supplied the Saudis white phosphorous in the past but declined to say how much had been transferred or when. After reviewing a social media image taken from the battlefield that showed a white phosphorous mortar shell, a U.S. official said it appeared to be American in origin but could not trace it to a particular sale because some of the markings were obscured

.”The United States expects any recipient of US military assistance to use those items in accordance with international law and under the terms and conditions of any US transfer or sale,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive issues.

The official said the department was looking into reports of Saudi forces’ improperly using US-supplied white phosphorous munitions. “If a country is determined to have used U.S.-provided weapons for unauthorised purposes, the US will take appropriate corrective action,” the official said.

The United States has grown increasingly wary of its material support to the Saudi military. In May, the Obama administration halted the sale of roughly 400 cluster bombs to the Saudis after human rights organizations documented the weapons’ use in civilian areas.

This week, lawmakers on Capitol Hill moved to delay a $1 billion arms deal that would replace some of Saudi Arabia’s US-supplied tanks that have been damaged in the conflict. (As if the administration has Not the habit of circumventing all these laws destined for the public)

Since coming to office in 2009, the Obama administration has facilitated more than $115 billion in 42 different arms sales to Saudi Arabia, more than any other US administration, according to a report in the Security Assistance Monitor. Batches of the equipment are likely to be delivered for years to come.

International humanitarian law does not ban the use of white phosphorous outright, but there is a strict requirement that it be used only in areas clearly separated from civilians. Even using it against enemy combatants has raised concerns, given that the munitions can cause particularly horrific injuries.

“The United States must not provide or sell white phosphorous munitions to Saudi Arabia or any other military that would use them in the Yemen conflict,” said Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “As a major arms seller to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. risks being complicit in Saudi Arabia’s likely war crimes in Yemen.”

A spokesman from the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment for this article. The Saudi government has repeatedly denied claims about unlawful bombings and civilian casualties, pointing to its military’s Western support as validation of its practices.

“The United States is concerned by the high number of casualties resulting from this war,” the State Department official said. “We are prepared to work with the Saudis to deter and confront any external threat to their territorial integrity, and we stand by that assurance. However, that does not mean we refrain from expressing our concerns about the war in Yemen and how it has been waged.”

The Pentagon provides midair refueling for Saudi aircraft and limited intelligence resources to Saudi forces. In addition to short-term military assistance, the Pentagon and the State Department, as well as other Western countries, have facilitated the sale of billions of dollars worth of arms to the Kingdom, everything from hand grenades to attack helicopters.

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Patrick Evans, said that “as a matter of policy,” the Pentagon office responsible for overseeing foreign military sales “does not disclose specific deliverables or the details” of the final transfer agreements.

The United States has used white phosphorous against fighters, including in 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq, and sporadically in Afghanistan over the course of the war there.

In 2009, Israel used the weapon in populated areas in the Gaza Strip. (And no one complained of these illegal usages)

Images on pro-Saudi Twitter and Instagram accounts show that Saudi forces are using several systems for firing white phosphorous munitions, including tank rounds, mortars, howitzers and rifle grenades.

Footage and images and social media posts showing the munition indicate that it is being used near the Saudi-Yemen border — in Najran province — and around the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Many of the images posted to social media show white phosphorous rounds from a distance, leaving any writing or identifying features blurry or ill-defined. The shell’s color pattern is the most telling, as the greenish-hue interrupted by yellow bands and red writing is internationally recognized as indicating white phosphorous munitions.

The picture reviewed by the U.S. official was first posted in November 2015 on a Saudi Instagram account and shows the shell with the words “Martyr Jamil Hadi” written on it.

The only company with the rights to sell to the U.S. government the white phosphorous round pictured in the image is General Dynamics Ordnance Tactical Systems, according to Marine Corps Systems Command documents distributed in 2015. The shell’s design is owned by TDA-Armaments of France. Both TDA-Armaments and General Dynamics manufacture the munition, although it is unclear which country manufactured the round pictured.

When asked about the image, General Dynamics spokeswoman Laurie VonBrocklin said “it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment” and deferred further questions to the Pentagon and the State Department.

The idea that “I will comply with the tax code, if and only if I can be sure that others comply” requires a high level of transparent information about the tax obligations of others and the extent to which they are meeting them. In Lebanon, the TVA is simply targeting the honest productive citizens, with a sharp two-sided sword, including faked errors to intimidate the honest payers. And productivity is suffering.

A Minister who wants to be protected in the future of wrong doings, would see to it that former ministers are like-wise protected. And that’s the main job of Nabih Berry to sustain this archaic thieving political system.

Ruling by a simple majority leaves the rest of the community in deserved suspicion that the majority will rig the next election laws in their favour. Unless the majority must earn its power by at least 5% difference from the second party that will Not scare it off into drastic election law reforms.

Ruling by a simple arithmetic proportional law has proven to lead to gridlock as in most European governing systems. Some kinds of a cascading discrete levels of permitted proportions must be carefully studied

I know all about les accents graves, aigues, legeres, tenors, soprano… They are just too tedious to type. I chose English for my blog. I prefer an expanded set of alphabets to accentuation

Sure, many lonely and tight people manage to succeed, at least in external appearances. But those who manage to transform their world into a world of laughter and enjoying company… barely fail. Especially, at an advanced age.

If I was born a young Moslem and felt trampled by the western global domination and controls, most probably I would have worn a kamikaze belt. Not to kill my citizens, but targeting the institutions that are controlled by the occupiers.

The deadly sin of Da3esh strategy is that it forgot that islam was meant to transcend ethinicity, languages and race. Al Qaeda was left to die in Syria and be used in every society that the new colonial powers decided to destabilize.

What people confess to a priest? Mostly benign sins that the priest knows they are common daily behaviors. The serious sins that hurt people and humanity are wrapped in stories packed with lies. The problem is that all benign sins are the basis and the web-net around which we plan and commit all the serious sins

Athlete gene pool? Tight body shape selection
Seven inches difference in height between Michael Phelps and Hicham El Guerrouj, the world record holder in the mile. These two men have the same length legs.
Swimmers are selected for long torso and short legs. Runner for their long and skinny legs

I am all for endurance sports. With the slowest pace possible. The person who can endure to cross last the finish line wins the trophy

You may graduate in engineering or natural sciences, but acquiring an experimental mind is Not in the educational program. Students in social sciences, psychology, sociology… study experimental design, learn to control and run experiments…They have a far better experimental mind than those in natural sciences, those supposed to be la crème de la crème in intelligence. Unless the educational programs are reformed to include design of experiment and running sophisticated experiments… it is an illusion that the engineers and natural scientists will make a significant reform in society.

The flux of immigrants and migratory workers to colonial Europe received a strong boost from enterprises after WWII. Business needed cheaper workforces from North Africa, the Subsahara, Turkey… Did the former colonial powers managed to swallow and overcome their sense of humiliation after being defeated in war? Did they treated the new comers with a decent level of dignity? During the economic booms, these immigrants/autichtone probably obtained higher levels of life security than back home: better pay, health care, schooling… Did integration stopped here? Do these autochtone of different colors, race…have to return back home, reverse migration, after decades of settling in the new nation, simply because the economy is bad? Or to cajole these far-right parties who claim losing their existential character?

And if the Jews in Israel are forced to return to their country of origins, simply because we believe their colonial behaviour is trampling on our existential characters?

Is it true that Lebanon is closed til Thursday?
How about the government double the monthly pay for public employees and eliminate all kinds of holidays, kellon ye3neh kellon, and don’t pay for work-off days?
And let the private sector keep working at normal pace, with increased minimum hourly pays?

Civil disobedience? The hardest movement citizens can undertake. Just take a minute and figure out how this government is still surviving. If you don’t care about participating in demonstrations, marches, expressing your frustration… At least don’t pay. Honest people stop paying TVA. Drivers stop driving and paying for gasoline. Stop paying traffic tickets… Drive slowly and let these elite fanatics horn and bypass you and get the traffic tickets instead of you. Rob this government from ready cash and then demand your rights as a citizern

Does the USA Federal Reserve Note interest set the price of national debt?
If that means drastically under-valueing the US sovereign debt, then Yes.
Just an accounting gimmick.
Since the US decided to forget what is its total sovereign debt, or tried to account for it.
And doesn’t care.…
Rou7ou balto al ba7r

L’imprimerie, la poudre a canon, et la boussole. La dissemination de la culture, la resistance avec des armes et moyens apropries, et une idee de soi: “who are we as a people? What do we want to be as a unified nation?” We lack all these necessary tools to confront the assault of the new world order. And we persist on romancing our weakening status among the nations and societies.

Don’t apologize for what you did. Better, no need to apologize for what you failed to do. You lived and assumed as best you tried.

I desisted to ponder on the intricacies of love relationship, a long time ago: There are no answers

Should my tears be phosphorescent for the others to notice how much I’m in pain and suffering?

If you have talent in attracting positive opinions and large audience, a few truthful positions may compensate for the dozens of lies you disseminate: No attraction of the public, no roots for any valuable position.

Why I take cigarette breaks? I copy literary gems. During these breaks, a few of these gems are edited out and transformed to become idioms of mine. I’m contemplating publishing these idioms of mine, which I sincerely consider mine.

We are bound to Hope. Whatever happens today can never be the end of history

Bon, les profs. n’aiment pas le film Americain “Le cercle des poetes disparus (late Robin Williams). Mais c’est notre film repondent les jeunes, specialement ceux des pensions. C’est pas le votre. And yet, the students were Not duped: they recognized the bad faith of prof Keating and didn’t appreciate his burning of the school book. Why Not burn all the books that he didn’t like?

“Khaleek bil Bayt” ma3 Zahi Wehbeh. Mounassabaat Zahi lel taba7or bi mawadee3 thakafiyya shatta. A very lucky man who found a niche that pleases his passions for culture and literature. These interviews with talented artists and authors are the kinds of archives that we are going to need, once we feel that our culture in what define us as people. Mind you that the interviews with the poet Adonis were burned down in the TV station of Al Moustakbal archive room.

Ya7ya Jaaber, Ghassan Jawaad, Nazem Al Sayyed, Mouhammad Barakaat, 3abbass Baydoun, Kassem 7addad, 3abd Mon3em Ramadan, Rasheed Da3eef…? About time I start reading these poets and authors. Those authors whom we could like are Not necessarily the most famous.

This Sunday, May 18, 2 busloads departed from Beit-Chabab, destination 3abbassiyyeh, near Sour. Teams of boules, supporters and cheerleaders, Not the kinds you see on US games. It was a very long day: we lost. All our teams lost, in no time. Though we had to wait till 6 pm for our journey home. Chadi, our bus driver, decided to circumvent Khaldeh by opting for the Shouf trajectory, a 2: 30 hours additional trip. But we enjoyed a couple of ice-cream stops on hungry stomachs. About time for different types of excursions out of Beit-Chabab. No boules trips. And no competition on who is the Funniest. I held the trophy for an entire month and I’m out of competition: I loath competitions that I was excluded from most of my early age.

I changed procedure: I used to read for 2:30 hours, excluding breaks. Now, as I fill 4 small pages of notes that I like… it is time to go home. Editing, typing and deciding what to post for the day on FB is hard work, enjoyable work that doesn’t count as working.

My backlog of articles to post on my blog is running in the hundreds: I had decided to post on 3 a day, at most. The same routine is taking roots for my notes, destination FB. I decided to post 6 a day, and the backlog is increasing exponentially

If you want to make a deal to lose in a game: let it be an individual game. That’s your negotiated and consented deal. When it comes to negotiate a team losing games, it is very wrong at any level and no excuses are admissible. A team must have a tacit oath of loyalty that every member is to perform at best he can, and enjoy the friendship of the members. Otherwise, morale is chattered for a very long period: better search for another team

All in a dream. I’m reading this Arabic caption in my siesta dream today: “Bless the way you’re enjoying your walk on. It was built by your forefathers a century ago” And funny: signed in English President Zimer14. Go figure

The most horror stories are retired army officers finally settling at home. The dementias activities an officer goes about around home drive the family members crazy. It is tough for everyone around, who start suspecting that the officer is losing his mind pretty quickly. It is urgent that retired officers are forced for a week-long retreat of what to expect in civilian life and how to change behaviors. The first item in the agenda is: Before undertaking a project, secure the agreement of the family members and get a willingness to cooperate. Otherwise, find out if you can afford a day worker to do tasks the family is unwilling to perform

Je ne peut me resoudre a negliger les appels (les noms des eleves), surtout le matin. Le son que fait votre nom a des vibrations de diapason. Better, welcome your students as they enter the classroom (as in Protestant churches?) and imitate their responses, particularly the variations on “Present”. Other teachers demand that the students wait in ordered line and in silence before the teacher opens the door of the classroom: Acquerir un peu de politesse n’a jamais fait mal a personne. In the afternoon, let the exhausted students listen for a couple of minutes to the noise outside and compare it to the noise inside the classroom, and proceed to speak at a lower volume.

Today, my eyes got wet: I read beautiful passages. I don’t recall ever crying: lack of imagination or feelings? Better late than never: I think that I’m recapturing some of my lost capacity for imagination and feelings.

The children of Palestine and those living in shantytowns of refugee camps, are systematically denied the basic rights of happiness, and of enjoying periods of laziness and boredom. The occupiers made sure to rob these kids of the basic feelings and their innate innocence. They are more mature than other children, and yet, more receptive to all kinds of feelings and emotions.